Horse-detacher



(No Model.) J.. E; BERKSTRESSER.

HORSE DETAGHER.

No. 554,905. Patented Feb. 18, 1896.

mlllll l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN EMORY BERKSTRESSER, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

HORSE-DETACHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,905, dated February18, 1896.

Application filed October 22, 1895. Serial No. 566,483. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JOHN EMORY BERK- STRESSER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State ofAlabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inItIorse-Detachers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to improvements in horse-detachers forvehicle-shafts in which a spring-catch is operated in conjunction withthe traces; and the objects of my improvements are, rst, to provide ahorse-detacher of a simple and cheap construction which can be readilyattached to vehicle-shafts and operated from the drivers seat; second,to provide a horse-detacher having the trace-hooks operating on coiledsprings inclosed in a tube, the traces compressing the springs on eitherside with the motion of the horse, giving an easier motion to thevehicle; third, to provide a spring-catch to a horse-detacher, having aself-locking bolt to hold the catch to place and prevent detaching withthe motion of the vehicle. I attain these objects by the deviceillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Y Figure l is a topview of the vehicle-shafts having my improved detachers attachedthereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through thecenter of one of the detachers. Fig. 3 is a detail top view of one ofthe catches. Fig. 4t is a detail top view of the trace attachment. Fig.5 is an end view of the same, the trace-hook removed to show thebreeehing-staple.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The detacher-casings A A are made of any suitable metallic tubing, andthey are attached to the shafts B B in any desired manner and at anydesired place, preferably some distance behind the center of the shafts.

The spring-catch C, formed as shown, is pivoted on a pin D, the pinrigidly secured at the ends in the casing A,the casing inclosing thecatch therein when mounted. The catch is provided with a hook E formedon the bottom of the front head, the upper part of the head having abolt F incased therein, the bolt provided with a coiled spring adaptedto press the bolt to the front, the end of the bolt extending outsidethe head. A ring or link H is attached to the bolt F, the ring havingthe detacher-line attached thereto, a slot J being formed in the headbehind the ring. The detacher-line when pulled will draw the boltbackuntil the ring rests against the end of the slot and then raise thecatch to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. A pin K isinserted in the tail of the catch, the pin having a coiled vspring L tokeep the tail of the catch pressed upward, thereby keeping the hook E inposition to engage the trace connection, as hereinafter described.

The trace connections M are made of any suitable-metallic tubing, formedas shown, with a bevel or taper on the back end, the lower wings havinga pin O rigidly secured therein, the pin to engage the hook E formed onthe head of the catch to connect the trace connections with thedetachers. A breeching-staple P is attached to the trace connections.The legs of the staple passing through apertures in one side of thetubing are rigidly attached at the ends to the opposite side thereof, aspace being left between t-he legs for the trace-hook Q to operatetherein.

The tails of the trace-hook Q are inserted between the legs of thebreeching-staple. A coiled spring R is placed on the tails of thetrace-hook and secured thereon by a washer S rigidly attached on theends thereof. The traces when pulled compress the springs against thestaples and relieve the shock of a rigid pull, thereby giving an easiermotion to the vehicle.

The trace attachment when inserted in the casing A lifts the hook on thecatch-head if the bolt F is drawn back and attaches itself automaticallyto the hook. The bolt F at the same time engaging the top edge of thetubing prevents a disengagement until the bolt is drawn back. To operatethe device to detach the horse, the detacher-lines are pulled backward,which withdraws the bolts F and tilts the catches to release the traceconnections, thus allowing the horse to go free.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

IOC)

In a horse-detacher, the combination with the shafts of a casing Aattached thereto, a catch C pivoted in the easing, the catch providedwith the hook E, the spring-holt F havin g a ring H and line J attachedthereto, and the tail-pin provided with a spring L, a trace attachment Mprovided with the breechingstaple P, the trace hook Q having coiledspring R, and the pin O adapted to engage the hook E, when theconnection is inserted 1o in the easing, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

JOHN EMORY BERKSTRESSER. Witnesses:

D. A. HUGHES, J. S. EDWARDS.

